Electronic surface mount components for circuit boards are becoming smaller and smaller. Some of the smallest components are only one millimeter in length by one-half millimeter in width. Commonly, for mass production of circuit boards utilizing such tiny electronic components, a continuous carrier tape is utilized. The tape is fed into an automatic pick and place machine for assembling the components onto the appropriate location on a circuit board. The electronic components are held within receptacles formed in the tape and the tape has indexed drive holes running parallel to the components for the assembly machine feed mechanism. One type of plastic tape has small recesses or pockets for the components, the open mouth of the pockets being covered over with a thin strip of flexible adhesive tape which is removed as the components are accessed. In another version, a paper tape has small cutouts along its length and strips of adhesive tape on either side hold the components within the cutouts. A length of leader tape is provided absent of components for initially feeding the tape into the assembly machine without wasting components. The leader extends between 9 and 14 inches in length, or otherwise conforms to Electronic Industry Assoc. standards.
Conventional tape dispensers consists of plastic spools around which the tape is wound. These spools are typically provided in either 7-inch or 13-inch diameters and can hold between 3,000 and 10,000 of the electronic components within each spool, depending on the component. Some of the components packaged on carrier tapes loaded onto spools include resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes, transistors, etc. Although many customers prefer bulk packaging with multiple thousands of electronic components, other customers desire a smaller quantity and can either buy the large capacity dispensers or must request the supplier to cut off a shorter length of tape from an off-the-shelf spool. The supplier is faced with a dilemma: The customer may go elsewhere if the request to cut off a smaller length of tape is refused, however, cutting the tape leaves a "broken" and undesirable dispenser having an odd number of components and no leader tape. The broken dispenser typically languishes on the supplier's shelves as customers do not want to buy tape having no leader and in odd component quantities. The broken dispenser also may tend to unwind and become tangled with adjacent items. Further, the cost of preparing a new leader length is often more than the value of the components in the tape. What is worse, the supplier cannot return the dispenser to the manufacturer as the product is damaged. Ultimately, the supplier may be forced to write off the damaged inventory.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system for dispensing surface mount components capable of holding smaller quantities than was previously available.